Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this is the fourth debate we are having after a major disaster. We are here to express the greatest feeling of closeness to the people of Valencia and we pay tribute to those who lost their lives and feelings of thanks for those who worked tirelessly. Since the flood of 16 May 2023, there have been more than 20 major weather disasters in Europe: Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain. And in these hours, precisely in these hours, in my province, in Catania, a violent flood has struck the cities of Acireale, Giarre and Riposto. We know that these phenomena are destined to repeat themselves and to be more and more frequent. No one among us denies climate change, but we can finally say that five years have been lost in chasing a climate change crisis. green deal Ideological and raving about electric cars instead of presenting a plan for the protection of the territory, with an adequate European fund for disaster prevention? Can we say that respect for the environment is demonstrated by mending the territory, reducing land consumption and implementing policies against hydrogeological instability? That's what we need to talk about so we don't cry for more deaths.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the centrality of regions and municipalities in cohesion policies has been reaffirmed by all groups and I am sure that no one in this House believes that we can do without municipalities and regions in the planning of the next programming cycles. I have had the privilege of being part of a regional government that has been able to invest resources in cohesion policies, that has certified billions of euros of expenditure actually made and that has programmed the current programming cycle, putting together resources of over 15 billion euros. And therefore no one more than those who have had these experiences – and in all groups we are many – can be absolutely aware of the need to see the regions as protagonists, like the municipalities, of the new cohesion policy. But regions must be listened to and when – as was the case at the last meeting of the European Committee of the Regions – they told us that the green transition cannot undermine Europe’s competitiveness, they must also be listened to.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, why this debate? Because a large number of the groups in this Parliament feel that there is an urgent need to review the regulation of medical devices. I, Commissioner, give you just one piece of information to understand a rule that is not working and is causing delays: 15 900 applications for new medical devices were filed at the European Patent Office in 2023, one every 30 minutes. And there is still today, in the current regulation, the risk that the procedure must be repeated for many of the devices that today are placed in the health system of all the states of the European Union. What is the result? The result is that, for example, paediatric patients are at great risk of missing devices for cardiovascular diseases and there is a very strong feeling that excessively bureaucratic legislation is also distancing the production of devices from the European Union. Then it is time to make a reflection, to do it quickly. And well said, I conclude immediately, the Commissioner, that we need a greater investment in EU4Health. It is a pity, however, that this investment has failed precisely in the budgetary perspective.

(IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, there is a strong feeling, also in the light of some of the speeches in this debate, that we have not fully understood how gigantic the phenomenon of drug trafficking is, that we have not fully understood how much force there is in the criminal organisations that deal with the management of the distribution centres in the re-use of capital, and that the fight against the re-use of this capital is not as effective as it should be. In the face of so many repressive initiatives, which have led to significant successes in the territories, both of the police and of the judicial authorities, what emerges is that the phenomenon not only does not tend to regress, but instead constantly increases. Mr Vice-President, you spoke before about a strategy in the making. Many of the interventions have shown how this strategy is still not allowing to achieve the objectives that it would like to achieve. And then I steal the conclusion of your speech: More needs to be done.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the numbers and requirements of prevention policies are certainly indispensable, especially for all the countries of the Mediterranean basin. But you rightly referred to the investments that need to grow and the need to upgrade the firefighting fleet. I can't hide the fact that there are some doubts. There is concern that the 600 million made available for the purchase of twelve Canadairs, which should perhaps be delivered in 2027, are not enough. And there is also the perplexity that we have turned to a technology that is highly obsolete compared to the needs of using the satellite mechanism and artificial intelligence. Then we welcome, if it is really maintained, the deadline of 2027 for the delivery of these twelve vehicles that will have to strengthen the firefighting fleet, but to the Commission, to Europe, all the States that live in a condition of growing emergency, next to the issue of fires, ask for something more, ask for European intervention, ask for European projects, ask for more investments, and on this we expect adequate answers from the new Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this session opened with a tribute to the countries affected by the recent floods in the East and it is tonight, in Italy, still in Emilia Romagna, that a flood has already led to over 1 000 displaced persons. Drought is the reciprocal of the same phenomenon. There is an urgent need to strengthen the European civil protection apparatus and reform the rules for access to the Solidarity Fund, which must be larger and faster, while today it is only a form of partial relief for public budgets. The European Environment Agency estimated the economic impact of climate disasters in the years 2021 and 2022 at EUR 110 billion; The weight was higher in 2023 and will be higher again in 2024. In Sicily, my region, the damage to farmers has already exceeded 3 billion euros and the Italian government is intervening through the Commissioner for Drought to build desalination plants and more dams. There are resources for the day-to-day management of cohesion policies, but the ordinary is no longer sufficient. In conclusion, we need a response that complements the current instruments with the creation of a European fund for the prevention and protection of the territory with a multiannual value. Only then will we be able to give answers to farmers and local communities.